Topeliopsis acutispora

Topeliopsis acutispora is a species of crustose lichen in the family Graphidaceae.[1] It is found in New South Wales and southern Queensland (Australia), where it grows on bryophytes (i.e., mosses or liverworts).

Topeliopsis acutispora
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Graphidales
Family: Graphidaceae
Genus: Topeliopsis
Species:
T. acutispora
Binomial name
Topeliopsis acutispora
Kalb (2001)

Taxonomy

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The lichen was formally described by lichenologist Klaus Kalb in 2001. The type specimen was collected from Cunninghams Gap in a cool temperate rainforest at an altitude of about 750 m (2,460 ft). The species epithet refers to the acute, or "pointy", shape of its spores.[2]

Description

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The lichen has a thin, whitish-grey to greenish-grey, effuse (spread-out) thallus. Its apothecia are more or less spherical to barrel-shaped, measuring 0.4–0.7 mm in diameter. The pale pink excipulum, initially closed, later opens via a ragged pore (ostiole). Ascospores typically number eight per ascus (sometimes only four are present), and are hyaline, halonate, and measure 90–130 by 9–12 μm.[2]

Topeliopsis decorticans appears to be morphologically identical to T. acutispora; the two species are distinguished by major differences in their ascospores, including shape, size, septation, and number per ascus.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "Topeliopsis acutispora Kalb". Catalogue of Life. Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  2. ^ a b Kalb, K. (2001). "The lichen genus Topeliopsis in Australia and remarks on Australian Thelotremataceae". Mycotaxon. 79: 319–328.
  3. ^ Luecking, Robert; Rivas Plata, Eimy; Parnmen, Sittiporn; Staiger, Bettina; Mangold, Armin; Frisch, Andreas; Weerakoon, Gothamie; Hernandez, Jesus; Caceres, Marcela; Kalb, Klaus; Sipman, Harrie; Common, Ralph; Nelsen, Matthew; Lumbsch, Thorsten (2013). "A molecular phylogeny of Graphidaceae (Ascomycota, Lecanoromycetes, Ostropales) including 428 species". MycoKeys. 6: 55–94. doi:10.3897/mycokeys.6.3482.